Niagara crew, volunteers work through snowy weather

Volunteers and professional crew members of the U.S. Brig Niagara roll out Cutter 1, a small support vessel that accompanies the sailing ship, as the Niagara is prepared for spring at its berth at the Erie Maritime Museum on March 16. ANDY COLWELL/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

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It wasn't the kind of day that the U.S. Brig Niagara crew had hoped for.

Snow, wind and temperatures below freezing Saturday morning kept the crew and about 50 volunteers from removing the wooden frame that had held the ship's winter coat.

They instead went to work stowing the canvas covering that had been removed the day before. It had frozen overnight on pallets outside an outdoor storage room.

David Goldman, the ship's third mate and engineer, directed as volunteers tried to shift it.

"The weather, unfortunately, isn't cooperating," he said.

Volunteers moved the ship's boats out of storage and managed to move the canvas covering in.

Others sanded boxes used to stow the ship's life jackets and worked on gear stored inside the Erie Maritime Museum for the winter.

"There's always work to be done," Goldman said.

Saturday morning's annual "Cover Day" work session was one of several scheduled to get the Niagara shipshape for the bicentennial of the Battle of Lake Erie this summer. The ship is a reproduction of the War of 1812 brig that became Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship in his September 1813 defeat of the British fleet.

Helping with the heavy lifting at the Niagara's home berth at the Erie Maritime Museum on Saturday was 17-year-old Gillian Davies, of Euclid, Ohio. The high school senior will sail as an apprentice aboard the Niagara this summer.

She first saw the ship docked at Chicago's Navy Pier in 2008, "fell in love" with it, and signed on for a two-week sail in 2012. "It was the coolest thing I've ever done," she said.

Niagara Seaman Alex Weber, 20, of Canton, Ohio, led one of the indoor work details. He first sailed on the Niagara in 2010 and will study for third mate certification at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Michigan this fall.

"What I enjoy most on the Niagara is sailing at night when the engines are off, and watching the sails in the moonlight. It's beautiful," Weber said.

Retirees also helped sand, paint and tote as needed Saturday.

"It's more fun than a man my age ought to have," said retiree Pat Federici, of North East. "I'd rather do this than anything."

It's Federici's third season as a Niagara volunteer.

Mike Fulton, 71, of Wooster, Ohio, sailed aboard the Niagara 11 years ago for what he thought was the last time.

"In those days, they had a 60-year age cutoff. You couldn't sail after that," he said.

Fulton learned that had changed when he saw the Niagara again in Cleveland last summer and spoke to the captain.

"So I'm back, and right now, helping. And I love it," he said.

The Niagara will cap its 2013 season with a starring appearance at the Tall Ships Erie festival this fall, days before the 200th anniversary of Perry's victory over the British fleet on Lake Erie on Sept. 10, 1813.

"This year being historically significant for the Niagara makes it all the more exciting to be here," Federici said.

VALERIE MYERS can be reached at 878-1913 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmyers.

Online Extras

MORE ONLINE: to take a tour of the U.S. Brig Niagara, see more stories, photos and videos, click here.